Two weeks ago, Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference board members Rich and Lisa Schary led about 40 curious people on a hike through the woods lining both sides of the Bethpage State Parkway, from the Southern State Parkway north to Hempstead Turnpike. What they encountered both pleased and disturbed them.

On the east side of the Bethpage Parkway, the paved bikeway and Greenbelt hiking trail were clean and well-maintained. Dozens of adults and children were happily walking, running cycling or roller blading. In stark contrast, along the west side of the parkway corridor, the area between Boundary Avenue and the Southern State Parkway seemed abandoned and forlorn, a no man's land of dumping, under-age party spots, camp fires, litter and graffiti. The only people encountered were some very young pre-teens tearing up the area on illegal motorbikes and ATVs. What had once been a well-paved bike path was now deteriorating, crumbling to dirt in some spots and overgrown by underbrush in others.

The contrast between the two sides of the Bethpage Parkway was stark and gave emphasis to the campaign by a number of local groups to have the state dedicate the entire corridor between Bethpage State Park and the Southern State Parkway as a new passive-use only state park.

Newly-elected Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, whose district the new state park would be in, has expressed his support for the proposal, backed by many of his other colleagues in the state legislature, who have already written to New York State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro - Senators Hannon, Marcellino, Skelos and Fuschillo and Assemblymen DiNapoli and Sidikman. The entire Oyster Bay and Hempstead Town Boards and their respective supervisors, as well as the Nassau County Legislature, have also written to Commissioner Castro on behalf of the Nassau Hiking and Outdoor Club, Friends of Massapequa Preserve and the Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale, who strongly support this proposal.